February 9, 2009

When I was growing up, I used to love watching the Grammys each year. The event’s producers always got big names to show up and my taste in music was

moe. is returning to New York City for the first time in eight months this weekend, so this week’s Stormy Mondays is a preview of the Valentine’s celebration (massacre?) at

Despite the tough economic environment, the Rothbury Festival will return to Michigan on July 2-5. Be sure to signup at rothburyfestival.com to be the first to get the scoop on

McLovin? What kind of a stupid name is that, Fogell? What, are you trying to be an Irish R&B singer?

Well, they’re not exactly Irish R&B crooners, but this trio of young musicians from the Hartford, CT area, Jake (Drumlovin), Jason (Basslovin) and Jeff (Axlovin), have certainly gained a lot of attention in a hurry with their raw talent, impressive chemistry and wise-way-beyond-their-years musical tastes.

In a genre of music that normally requires a good three years of 100+ shows and slow burn word of mouth publicity, the McLovins appear to be the first band in the jam scene to actually blow up. We see it almost every day in the realms of indie rock and pop music, but it sure is fun to see the internets buzzing with fury over the threesome of musical whiz kids because they tackle Phish covers like YEM and Harry Hood as well as plain old virtuoso material like Eric Johnson’s Cliffs of Dover, songs that most players stumble over for months (or years) just to get through a few sections.

Having already made big waves by gracing Rolling Stone’s Smoking Section, igniting the blogosphere, appearing on the local news and making a new friend in Phantasy Tour, we thought it’d be great to get to know a little more about the three J’s: Jake, Jason, and Jeff. The boys were kind enough to collaborate and shed some light on their friendship, the new found internet fame and their plans for a first album. Hopefully, this will help tide you over until we get to see the McLovins live in action.

Hidden Track: Let’s start with a little background on the McLovins; how did you guys all get to know each other and come to realize you shared a common interest in heady stuff like Phish, Eric Johnson, and Weather Report?

McLovins: We met last summer. (Jake and Jason met at Jazz Camp and Jake and Jeff met at Rock Camp). We started playing together in the basement, sharing the songs we already knew and learning new songs we’d heard that we were interested in. We started sitting in together for a few songs every Wednesday night at a restaurant in Collinsville. People started to come to hear us play, even though it is a small place and we could get pretty loud.

READ ON for more of the first print interview with The McLovins…

VH1 Classic will air Oliver Stone’s 1991 flick The Doors on Tuesday at 7PM. The movie is more about Jim Morrison, portrayed wonderfully by Val Kilmer, and his nutjob antics

[youtube]XpAG8IWPHeQ[/youtube] Wilco w/ Andrew Bird – Jesus Etc. (Live 10/17/07)

In an effort to get more personal and show some of the thought processes that have led us to running this blog, I’ve decided to pen a note to start each week. For the From The Editor column I’ll discuss the week ahead and whatever’s on my mind. Later today, we’ll be running the first interview with a group of talented schoolkids we’ve got high hopes for – McLovins.

The McLovins took the internet by storm in December when a clip of the trio covering the incredibly difficult Phish song You Enjoy Myself became a viral video smash. Two members of McLovins are currently in high school while the guitar player is still in middle school. In order to secure the interview Ryan and I needed to go through drummer Jake Huffman’s mom Carol and the support, love and concern Carol and the other McLovin parents showed throughout the process had me thinking of the support, love and concern my parents showed me as I explored my passion for music.

I got into Phish and the Grateful Dead back in the mid ’90s when less than 5% of Americans knew what the internet was. After I purchased Lawn Boy and realized Phish was the band for me I started to seek out live recordings. Without the internet, it wasn’t as easy as firing up bt.etree.org and picking from 200 shows to download. As a 16 year old in Hazlet, New Jersey – a town where hardly anyone had heard of Phish – I had limited options for finding Phish tapes and one of them was a store called Prime Cuts in Rockville Center on Long Island.

READ ON after the jump to find out exactly what I’m getting at…